The top-ranked Bronchos look to advance to the Division II national championships with regional win
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UCO wrestling's Gabe Johnson. Photo courtesy of UCO Photo Services.
Central Oklahoma wrestling’s regular season is now over and the top-ranked Bronchos enter the postseason looking to defend their national title.
Coach Todd Steidley’s undefeated group will compete at the NCAA Division II Super Region IV Tournament held at the University of Indianapolis. Should UCO come out on top, they’ll qualify for the DII Wrestling Championships on March 15 for a shot at winning a national title for the second consecutive year.
The Bronchos played their way into the regional after a perfect 15-0 regular season that saw them win the MIAA conference championship for the fifth-straight year.
The DII Super Regional consists of six different tournaments that feature teams from certain regions of the country. These teams (about 10 or 11 per region) will compete against each other over the course of a day in a bracket that will determine which top three wrestlers from each weight class advance to the national championship tournament.
UCO is set to compete in Region Four with schools from Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
UCO will see two familiar opponents in the tournament with fellow MIAA members Central Missouri and Newman also competing in Region Four. The Bronchos defeated both programs in the regular season by over 30 points.
The Bronchos feature two wrestlers riding undefeated regular seasons that will be put to the test this weekend. Both Dalton Abney (197) and Shawn Streck (HWT) have yet to lose a single match this season, with Abney at 11-0 and Streck at 13-0. Anthony DesVigne was recently awarded MIAA wrestler of the week after capping off a 17-4 season with a big win in the team’s final dual of the season.
The Super Regional action kicks off on Saturday, March 2, at 9 A.M. inside the University of Indianapolis’ Nicoson Hall.